And daff'd me to a cabin hang'd with care, Farewell, quoth she, and come again to-morrow; Yet at my parting sweetly did she smile, 13. Lord, how mine eyes throw gazes to the east! While Philomela sits and sings, I sit and mark, To spite me now, each minute seems a moon;a Pack night, peep day; good day, of night now borrow; Short, night, to-night, and length thyself to-morrow. A moon. The original has an hour-evidently a misprint. The emendation of moon, in the sense of month, is by Steevens, and it ought to atone for some faults of the commentator. SONNETS ΤΟ SUNDRY NOTES OF MUSIC. 14. It was a lording's daughter, the fairest one of three, Till looking on an Englishman, the fairest that eye could see, Long was the combat doubtful, that love with love did fight, Unto the silly damsel. But one must be refused, more mickle was the pain, That nothing could be used, to turn them both to gain, For of the two the trusty knight was wounded with disdain: Thus art, with arms contending, was victor of the day, 15. On a day (alack the day !), Love, whose month was ever May, Spied a blossom passing fair, Playing in the wanton air: Through the velvet leaves the wind, All unseen, 'gan passage find; Wish'd himself the heaven's breath. All my merry jigs are quite forgot, All my lady's love is lost, God wot: Where her faith was firmly fix'd in love, Wrought all my loss; This beautiful little poem also occurs in Love's Labour 's Lost.' In that copy in the second line we find "is every May:" every, which is repeated in the folio of 1623, is clearly a mistake. In the eleventh line we have "But, alack, my hand is sworn." In the play there is a couplet not found in The Passionate Pilgrim :'— "Do not call it sin in me, That I am forsworn for thee." These lines precede "Thou for whom." b We have two other ancient copies of this poem-one in England's Helicon,' 1600; the other in a collection of Madrigals by Thomas Weelkes, 1597. In England's Helicon' these lines are thus given : "Love is denying, Faith is defying; Hearts renging (renying), causer of this." O frowning Fortune, cursed, fickle dame! Inconstancy More in women than in men remain. In black mourn I, All fears scorn I, Love hath forlorn me, Living in thrall: Heart is bleeding, All help needing, (O cruel speeding!) Fraughted with gall. My shepherd's pipe can sound no deal," Procures to weep, In howling-wise, to see my doleful plight. How sighs resound Through heartless ground, Like a thousand vanquish'd men in bloody fight! Clear wells spring not, Sweet birds sing not, Green plants bring not Nymphs back peeping Fearfully. All our pleasure known to us poor swains, a No deal-in no degree: some deal and no deal were common expressions. b Procures. The curtail dog is the nominative case to this verb. The reading in Weelkes's Madrigals' is an improvement of this passage: "Loud bells ring not Cheerfully." All our evening sport from us is fled, Thy like ne'er was For a sweet content, the cause of all my moan: Must live alone, Other help for him I see that there is none. 17. Whenas thine eye hath chose the dame, And stall'd the deer that thou shouldst strike," Let reason rule things worthy blame, As well as fancy, partial might: d Take counsel of some wiser head, And when thou com'st thy tale to tell, But plainly say thou lov'st her well, What though her frowning brows be bent, That thus dissembled her delight; b a Lass. This is the reading of Weelkes. "The Passionate Pilgrim' has love. b Moan. This is the reading in England's Helicon.' 'The Passionate Pilgrim' has woe. Strike. So the original. Mr. Dyce, who seldom indulges in conjectural emendation, alters the word to smite," for the sake of the rhyme." This we think is scarcely allowable; for there are many examples of loose rhymes in these little poems. In the seventh stanza of this poem we have nought to rhyme with oft. d Fancy is here used as love, and might as power. Steevens, mischievously we should imagine, changed partial might to partial tike; and Malone adopts this reading, which makes Cupid a bull-dog. Sell. The reading of The Passionate Pilgrim' is sale. A manuscript in the possession of Mr. Lysons gives us sell. f Calm is the reading of The Passionate Pilgrim;' the manuscript just mentioned has clear. |